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Catalysts for production of biodiesel fuel and glycerol

a technology of biodiesel and catalysts, which is applied in the direction of catalysts, organic compounds/hydrides/coordination complexes, physical/chemical process catalysts, etc., can solve the problems of increasing the cost of the biodiesel process, and achieving the purification of glycerol. , to achieve the effect of being affordable and commercially availabl

Inactive Publication Date: 2009-05-14
IMPERIAL PETROLUEM
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0022]1. They may be removed from the biodiesel and glycerol products by simple heating and evacuation or by passing through an acidic column. There is no need for neutralization of the catalyst with an acidic solution or washing the products with aqueous solvents to get rid of metal-salt substances.
[0023]2. They are highly reactive catalysts for biodiesel and glycerol production (low catalyst levels, quick reaction times, and relatively low reaction temperatures).
[0028]2. They are relatively volatile, so they can be distilled out of the reaction mixture quite easily.
[0029]3. They may speed-up the reaction of alcohol and oil by making the reaction mixture homogenous.

Problems solved by technology

However, the use of these catalysts is a problem due to the disadvantage that the catalysts need to be neutralized by acid and removed from the biodiesel and glycerol by subsequent water washing to wash the salts out of the biodiesel product and glycerol by-product.
The neutralization and purification steps add cost to the biodiesel process and also make it more difficult to achieve purified glycerol, without the added step of distillation of the glycerol.
Ether-containing solvents have the potential to generate dangerous peroxides if they are not stabilized, so there is a need to look at alternative solvents.

Method used

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Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

example 1

[0044]Into a 3-necked round-bottom flask, equipped with a magnetic stirrer, was charged 50.1 g of canola oil, 49.0 g of tetrahydrofuran (THF), 47.5 g of anhydrous methanol, and 4.2 g of tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH, 25 wt % solution in methanol). Upon catalyst addition, the clear solution became cloudy. After 1 minute of stirring, the solution became clear and slightly more yellow than the initial color before TMAH addition. The mixture was stirred at room temperature for a total of 10 min. Then, the solution was transferred into a one-necked round bottom flask, placed on a rotary evaporator, and the products were concentrated in vacuo (heating bath temperature=70-80° C.). After complete evaporation of the volatile components, the mixture was allowed to spatially separate. The upper layer (biodiesel-rich layer) weighed 50.1 g. The lower layer (glycerol-rich layer) was clear, slightly discolored, and free of metal-containing salts.

example 2

[0045]Into a 3-necked round-bottom flask, equipped with a magnetic stirrer, was charged 50.1 g of canola oil, 22 g of anhydrous methanol, 4.3 g of TMAH (25 wt % solution in methanol), and 78.3 g of a solution containing 60% THF: 30% methanol: 10% deionized water. Initially, the mixture was yellow and cloudy. After the 10 min reaction at room temeperature, the mixture was less yellow and cloudy than the initial observation. Then, the solution was transferred into a one-necked round bottom flask, placed on a rotary evaporator, and the products were concentrated in vacuo (heating bath temperature=70-80° C.). During the purification work-up, some of the products had bubbled overhead resulting in product yield loss. After complete evaporation of the volatile components, the mixture was allowed to spatially separate. The upper layer (biodiesel-rich layer) weighed 43 g. The lower layer (glycerol-rich) was clear, slightly discolored, and free of metal-containing salts.

example 3

[0046]Into a single-necked round-bottom flask was charged 16.5 g of canola oil. 16.3 g of THF, 15.8 g of anhydrous methanol, and 0.2 g of TMAH (25 wt % solution in methanol). The flask was immediately placed on a rotary evaporator, and the products were concentrated in vacuo by a water aspirator (heating bath temperature=70-80° C.). After complete evaporation of the volatile components, the mixture was allowed to spatially separate. The upper layer (biodiesel-rich layer) weighed 16.65 g. The lower layer (glycerol-rich layer) was clear, slightly discolored, and free of metal-containing salts.

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Abstract

A method of producing biodiesel through the trans-esterification of a triglyceride, comprising mixing a triglyceride, an alcohol, and a catalyst to form a mixture, where said catalyst is non-metal quaternary ammonium hydroxide or non-metal quaternary phosphonium hydroxide, removing volatile components from said mixture, and allowing the remaining mixture to separate into a biodiesel-rich layer and a glycerol-rich layer.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]The present invention generally relates to biodiesel and glycerol production. In particular, it relates to a method of producing biodiesel and glycerol using non-metal containing quaternary ammonium hydroxide and non-metal containing quaternary phosphonium hydroxide catalysts.[0003]2. Prior Art[0004]The field of biodiesel production is currently expanding at a rapid rate due to the interest in biodiesel as an alternative fuel source. Usual biodiesel production uses an alkali or alkaline earth metal hydroxide or alkoxide catalyst, e.g., sodium / potassium hydroxide or sodium / potassium methoxide. However, the use of these catalysts is a problem due to the disadvantage that the catalysts need to be neutralized by acid and removed from the biodiesel and glycerol by subsequent water washing to wash the salts out of the biodiesel product and glycerol by-product. The neutralization and purification steps add cost to the biodiese...

Claims

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Application Information

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IPC IPC(8): C10L1/18C01B21/082C01B25/02
CPCB01J31/0239B01J31/0268B01J2231/49Y02E50/13C10L1/026C10L1/19C11C3/003C10G2300/1011Y02P30/20Y02E50/10
Inventor MULLEN, BRIAN
Owner IMPERIAL PETROLUEM
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